Newly enforced cemetery rules upset Magnolia mother

TANA ROSStross@hcnonline.com

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Magnolia mom, Brenda Bowels, was incensed when she found items she placed at her daughter’s grave site tossed in the dirt of the Magnolia cemetery where she buried her 21-year-old daughter four years ago.

Bowels visits Klein Memorial Park every two weeks to decorate the grave site — a ritual she usually looks forward to. But on Father’s Day when she went to place flowers her husband, Brandon, had sent while he was out of town, her time of peaceful reflection turned to turmoil.

“At first I thought they had been stolen and I called Klein’s,” she said of the ceramic angels, wind chimes and other decorations that were missing.

More disturbing than the items missing from her daughter’s grave site, was the way Bowels found the items — piled on the ground with similar decorations and memorabilia next to a maintenance shed alongside a wooded area.

“What about the people who don’t come out here as often as I do,” she said. “I think people need to know their loved one’s things are lying in the dirt.”

While he did not deny the placement of the items on the ground at the storage shed, Matthew Klein of Klein Funeral Home and Memorial Parks said any mistreatment or disrespect or the property was unintentional.

“We grouped the items and tagged as many as we could with names,” he said. “We have people available on location from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day to help.”

When Bowels called Klein’s she spoke with Sue Springer who oversees Klein cemeteries. Bowels said Springer told her the locally owned funeral home, with locations in Champions Forest, Magnolia and Tomball, had posted signs notifying property owners of its rules before removing the decorations.

“When I go to the cemetery, I don’t look for signs. I am there to visit my daughter’s grave,” she said. “They should have sent out letters.”

While not an apology, Klein conceded that letters may have been a good idea.

“It is unfortunate Mrs. Bowels feels this way and we certainly did not want to upset her, but we chose to follow our rules for the good of everybody,” he said.

Klein said the funeral home’s recent decision to enforce its rules more strictly came after the company received numerous complaints.

“We have been very lenient,” he said. “But what precipitated this is that we have been getting complaints from people, who have permanent markers and vases, about the shepherd hooks, stuffed animals and potted plants that were left to die.”

Klein said everyone who purchases property at one of the Klein parks is given a set of rules. However he acknowledged that most people are in grief at the time the rules are placed in their hands. Because of the recent reported complaints, Klein said his family’s company decided to take action after posting signs with an abbreviated version of the rules.

“We posted the signs about two month ago,” he said last week. “But, we did not act on the rules until the signs had been up for one month.”

Klein went on to explain that each cemetery in the state of Texas is chartered and must present a copy of its rules with application for a charter is made. Additionally, he said cemeteries are regulated by the state’s banking department and parks are physically reviewed each year as part of an annual audit.

Klein said decorations for holidays and special occasions are allowed, something Bowels decided she would continue regardless of policy.

“When it comes time, I’m decorating and I told them not to ever touch my stuff again,” she said.